'Boot camp' teaches business principles to Arts & Sciences students

Inaugural participantsTwenty rising juniors and seniors were the inaugural participants in the Cohen Career Center's first "boot camp" for Arts & Sciences majors. Here, the group poses for a photo at Google.
Photo courtesy of David Lapinski

Working as a teamStudents completed numerous case studies and other projects -- such as this team-building marshmallow task -- throughout the week.
Photo courtesy of David Lapinski

Just one day after William & Mary’s spring semester
officially ended, 20 of the university’s rising juniors and seniors left for
boot camp.

In typical boot camp fashion, they rose before the sun and
charged into each day, facing their fears and challenging their limits. But the
students weren’t joining the military; they were training for another kind of
combat zone: the world of business.

The students were the inaugural participants in the Cohen
Career Center’s first “boot camp” for Arts & Sciences majors. The five-day
program held in Washington, D.C, offered students a chance to learn basic
business principles from industry experts while also tackling case studies,
networking with alumni and learning about career opportunities.

‘No
matter what the major’

The idea for the program came from feedback that students
offered as part of the curriculum review process. Undergraduates in the Arts
& Sciences reported a desire to have more access to business classes and
experience with group projects and presentations.

The Cohen Career Center’s Alumni Advisory Board began to
look into what other universities were doing, and found that several –
including Wake Forest, Notre Dame and Dartmouth – offer business immersion
experiences for their students.

Based on those benchmarks, two members of the board –
Josh Newfield ’96, MBA ’06 and board president Jeremy Benedict ’97 – worked
with David Lapinski, senior associate director of the Cohen Career Center, to
create the “boot camp” curriculum.

They had four goals in mind for participants: that they
would understand fundamental principles of each business discipline, learn
about various jobs and career paths available to them, believe that their Arts
& Sciences background is applicable to business, and feel confident in
applying and interviewing for jobs.

“A lot of these students when they get out, they don’t
feel as if they are as competitive as someone who went through a BBA program
and has a marketing degree,” said Newfield, who experienced the same kind of
doubt when he graduated with a degree in philosophy. “Our voice is to say, you
do. There’s intrinsic value, there’s real-world value.

“We hear time and time again from employers that hire
W&M students that they are hiring thinkers, people with the ability to
think on their feet, manage change and be independent-thought provokers and
problem solvers. You can be that no matter what the major.”

One thing the organizers did not want to do was try to turn
the students into “business workers.”

“The fact that they can just converse about it is what
makes them marketable,” said Lapinski. “Recruiters care more about the skill sets
that students have than what they are majoring in, but the students have to
understand how their liberal arts experience applies to business. They have to
be able to communicate how their background aligns to various business
disciplines, and the only way that they can communicate that is if they
understand a little bit about the field.”

Inspired
to perform

The participating students – all rising juniors or
seniors – were selected for the program through a competitive application
process.

“I wanted to learn more about business and potential
career paths,” said Sky Sprayberry ’15, a classical studies major. “My hope was
that business boot camp would provide an opportunity to get a taste
of the real business world, expose me to a broad range of business situations,
and help me to find a focus which I enjoy.”

The program started May 13. Each day began at 6:30 a.m.
when students would go to a business – such as Booz Allen Hamilton, Google, or PricewaterhouseCoopers
-- and learn about topics such as accounting or marketing strategies from
W&M alumni who are currently working in those fields. At the end of each
day, the students were given a case study. Panels of young alumni met with them
in the evening to offer advice and guidance on the case studies, and then, back
at the hotel, the students worked on the projects in groups. The following
morning, they presented their work to panels of business executives – mostly
W&M alumni – who evaluated their presentations.

Although the days were filled, government major Chase
Jordan ’15 said that he enjoyed the fast-paced nature of the program.

“I think that intensity inspired us to perform,” he said.
“That kind of pressure felt very real-world.”

Forty-five alumni gave of their time and resources throughout
the week, and they soon found that their efforts were well worth it.

“I never cease to be amazed by W&M students’ appetite
for learning, and their thoughtful approach to new problems,” said Benedict,
who is now the CEO of Guided Surgery Solutions, LLC. “The students approached
the new material with a great attitude and a real eagerness to dive in and
participate. Learning is a two-way street, and everyone got out of the week
what they put into the week. I really enjoyed getting to know a few of the
students and watching their perspectives grow with each day’s discussions.”

The students also dazzled the businesses that
participated in the boot camp.

“The companies afterward were asking us about the
students because they were so impressed with how they presented themselves,”
said Lapinski.

‘An
empowering learning experience’

Based on feedback from students and other findings, the
boot camp’s organizers see their inaugural effort as a complete success.

“We did a pre-survey, and we did a post-survey to see
where their skills were in certain areas, and they all increased dramatically,”
said Lipinski. “We’re really pleased with it.”

Students, too, reported their satisfaction with the
experience.

“This experience has
definitely helped me to think critically about my career path and prepare me
for applying for full-time jobs this coming fall,” said Tracy Brinkerhoff ’14,
an English major and economics minor. “The advice, stories, and support of successful
alumni that we were introduced to throughout the program have been invaluable
resources to my own professional development.”

Sprayberry said that it was
an experience she could not have received with a single internship.

“I acquired new
skills, gained confidence, and met fascinating business professionals,”
she said. “The bootcamp was an empowering learning experience. It
created a solid foundation that I will be able to build upon.”

With their first successful boot camp now under their
belts, the program’s organizers are now looking at how they can replicate the
experience and offer it to more students.

According to the program’s first participants, it is
something that more Arts & Sciences students should do.

“It was an absolutely fantastic experience, and I think
that every liberal arts student should try to have an opportunity to try to
participate in it,” said Jordan.